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John T. C. Yeh, president of Rockville deaf services business Viable, and three other company executives have been charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, federal officials said Thursday.
Other executives charged were Viable COO Joseph Yeh, assistant vice president Anthony Mowl and human relations director Donald Tropp. The charges also include submitting false claims and mail fraud. Executives with companies in New York, Texas and other states were similarly charged.
The indictments were part of a national investigation that alleges that the executives illegally took millions of dollars from the Federal Communications Commission's Video Relay Service program by generating fraudulent call minutes.
Yeh and other Viable executives could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Viable, under a cloud since a June visit by federal investigators, has been hit with lawsuits by employees seeking back payment of wages, and has made a purchase agreement with a New York company.
State board cuts business programs
Budget cuts approved this week by the state Board of Public Works included $1 million from the tourism board and $453,000 from a program that helps attract movie production.
The panel also took $289,000 from the budget for welcoming centers, slashing three positions and seven contractors. A technology transfer grant program under the Maryland Technology Development Corp. was cut by $200,000, while operating grants to incubators were reduced by $125,000.
The budget for low-cost rural business loans under the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corp. was slashed by $250,000.
The cuts were part of $361.6 million in reductions, bringing total cuts for fiscal 2010 to more than $1 billion, announced this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).
Clothing discounter brings jobs to New Carrollton
Clothing discounter Forman Mills will be opening a store at 8401 Annapolis Road in New Carrollton, bringing in about 150 jobs.
The warehouse-styled stores will offer significant discounts on high-profile brand names, such as DKNY, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland, Perry Ellis, Fila and more.
RLJ venture fund raises $355 million
Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson's joint venture with Western Asset Management has raised $355 million to qualify for government financing that will enable it to buy banks' toxic assets.
RLJ Western Asset is a minority-owned partnership between Johnson's Bethesda-based RLJ Cos. and Western Asset Management, a fixed-income manager in Pasadena, Calif. RLJ Cos. is involved in financial services, asset management, real estate, hospitality and other businesses.
The venture raised the money from eight investors, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The U.S. Treasury then said the company had become an eligible public-private investment fund.
CapitalSource sells Portfolio in $331M deal
Commercial lender CapitalSource Inc. of Chevy Chase plans to sell essentially its entire healthcare lease portfolio to Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. of Hunt Valley.
The sale, including 143 long term care facilities, involves $280 million in cash and $51 million of Omega stock. CapitalSource owns 38 additional long term care facilities not included in this sale, which it expects to sell separately, according to CapitalSource information.
"This transaction is another important step in our ongoing transformation to a bank model," said John K. Delaney, chairman and CEO of CapitalSource, in a statement. "We intend to use the cash proceeds principally to pay down debt, which further strengthens our balance sheet and liquidity. After exploring a number of alternatives in recent months, we believe this direct asset sale is the best result for our shareholders."
FTC seeks contempt order on BlueHippo
The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to issue a contempt order against Baltimore-based computer finance firm BlueHippo Funding LLC, a company it says collected more than $15 million from consumers based on claims that it would finance their purchases of new computers, but delivered neither the financing nor the financed computers, in violation of a 2008 court order.
The FTC reached a settlement with the company that required the company to pay $3.5 million for consumer redress and barred the defendants from further deceiving customers. The FTC says even after this settlement order was entered by the court, BlueHippo continued to deceive consumers,
According to BlueHippo information, the legal papers filed by the FTC contain inaccurate allegations and attempt to change the terms of the parties' agreement 19 months after the fact. BlueHippo intends to "vigorously" fight these allegations and to take all steps available to it to rebut the FTC's unfounded claims. BlueHippo claims to have shipped many tens of thousands of brand new computers to customers across the country.
Montgomery takes action against car dealer
The Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection and the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration have collaborated to take legal action against the owner of Rockville Auto Sales, Behzad Samya, after both agencies received numerous complaints from consumers who purchased used vehicles but did not receive good titles or registrations to the vehicles within the timeframe required by law.
The Montgomery agency and MVA have both issued multiple citations to the merchant. MVA has issued eight citations to Samya for violating Maryland dealer regulations. On October 29, Samya pleaded guilty to two of the citations and the remaining six remain in abeyance pending Samya's cooperation with the MVA and OCP investigation.
The matter is scheduled to return to court on December 17. Rockville Auto Sales is now out of business, according to Montgomery County information.
UMD, developer change plan on $700M project
The University of Maryland is looking to break its $700 million East Campus project into several smaller components to create more attractive funding packages. This involved ending the exclusive negotiations the university has with Foulger Pratt/Argo Investment, which has been the project's developer since 2007 and drew up East Campus' pre-development plan.
University spokesman Millree Williams said the university is still in talks with Foulger Pratt and doesn't want to lose the relationship it has with the developer. He said the economic environment has made it difficult to obtain funding for large projects like East Campus.
As the university looks for ways it can move forward, its first phase plans still include the relocation of the auxiliary facilities currently on the East Campus district, collaborating with the Maryland Economic Development Corp. to plan a 650-bed student housing project and anchoring the Birchmere music and entertainment venue.
Groups plan to sue landfill managers
The Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Patuxent Riverkeeper have announced intentions to sue the managers of the Brandywine Coal Combustion Waste Landfill for alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
The groups claim the managers, Mirant MD Ash Management and Mirant Mid-Atlantic LLC Corp. of Atlanta are failing to comply with terms of the Clean Water Act permit by illegally discharging toxic pollutants into Mataponi Creek and its tributaries from outfalls and through leaks in disposal cells. Mirant has also failed to submit a required report that describes how the company will eliminate all toxic discharges at the Brandywine CCW Landfill, according to the groups' notice of intent.
"Unsafe management of coal waste at the Brandywine landfill poses a threat to the long term health of our constituents, and also to the value of the river as a place for renewal, sustenance, research and investment," Fred Tutman of Patuxent Riverkeeper in Upper Marlboro said in a statement.
Sequella broadens NIH agreement on drug
Sequella Inc. of Rockville, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing products to treat life-threatening infectious diseases has amended an existing agreement with the National Institutes of Health to significantly broaden the licensed therapeutic indications, or "field of use," for Sequella's lead drug candidate, SQ109.
The new agreement will allow Sequella to pursue additional infectious disease indications targeting fungi and other mycobacterium unrelated to tuberculosis, according to Sequella information.
Baltimore biotech lands license deal
Champions Biotechnology Inc. of Baltimore, an oncology drug development company, has established an exclusive licensing agreement with Yale University and Southern Research Institute for the development of Bithionol for cancer treatment.
Under the terms of the agreement, Champions will have exclusive rights and be responsible for the further development of Bithionol for all oncology indications. Yale and Southern Research will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Spherix to get $6.3M from investors
Spherix Inc. of Bethesda, a provider of technical and regulatory consulting services, has received commitments from investors to purchase $6.3 million of securities in a registered direct offering.
According to company CEO Dr. Claire Kruger, the proceeds will go towards funding Spherix's biotechnology research for type-2 diabetes therapy.
Holaday's company raises $19.7M
QRxPharma, an Australian clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company headed by CEO and Managing Director John Holady of Bethesda, has raised about $19.7 million in a capital raising effort.
The proceeds are to be used for funding the Phase 3 drug development and expenditure program for the company's MoxDuoô IR, an immediate release dual opioid product for pain management and the placing of a New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010, and for additional working capital purposes.
Stem cell commission gets 193 letters for funds
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission received record interest for its fourth year of funding with a total 193 letters of intent in response to its three official requests for applications through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006.
The commission will use its budget of $12.4 million for fiscal year 2010 to support grants to public and private entities in the state.
BroadSoft expands overseas operations
BroadSoft Inc. of Gaithersburg, which provides VoIP applications to the telecommunications industry, has expanded its Belfast Operations to support the company's growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
BroadSoft has worked with large carriers in Europe since 2002, and opened its European Headquarters at Northern Ireland Science Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2006. According to company information, BroadSoft has more than doubled its space requirement in the past three years due to rapid growth.
Incubator to host TechCrawl
The Emerging Technology Center, Baltimore City's technology incubator, will host first Maryland TechCrawl, a technology show and tell event, on December 16. The event is being organized by ETC and two incubator companies, mp3car.com and SmartLogic Solutions.
At Techcrawl, entrepreneurs will have 60 seconds to pitch their company to any attendee that steps up to the "plate" in front of their booth and compete for $500 prize donated by mp3car.com and SmartLogic Solutions.
The ETC's board of directors will judge the competition. For more information, see www.mdtechcrawl.com
Firm signs deal on cyber security
As the Federal government's attention shifts towards cyber security, Baltimore-based Lookingglass Cyber Solutions, provider of cyber situational awareness products, has signed a contract to deploy ScoutVision in Northrop Grumman Corporation's CyberSpace Solutions Center in Millersville.
Deployment of ScoutVision - an Internet intelligence and real-time data visualization platform is intended to demonstrate to customers their ability to monitor specific networks of interest and Internet threats.
Prepaid phone provider plans "affordable" wireless
Prepaid cell phone provider TracFone Wireless Inc. of Miami, Fla., a subsidiary of America Movil, has launched its SafeLink Wireless service in Maryland, to make telephone service available and affordable for eligible low income households.
SafeLink Wireless is the first and only completely free offering of Lifeline —- a U.S. government supported program. The service will provide eligible low-income households a free cell phone, mobile access to emergency services and free 64 minutes of airtime, monthly, for one year, according to TracFone information.